For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Allison Ritter
Hope-Beckham Inc.
404-604-2603
The Atlanta Track Club Implements Event Alert System for the 2012 AJC Peachtree Road Race
Colored flags will communicate levels of safety
ATLANTA, June 4, 2012 – The Atlanta Track Club, organizer of the AJC Peachtree Road Race, today announced that a color-coded Event Alert System (EAS) will be used for the 2012 AJC Peachtree Road Race. The EAS will communicate conditions of the race course to participants, volunteers and staff in the days leading up to the event as well as on race day.
Colored flags will be located at the start line, along the course and in the finish line area. The flags will inform participants of specific alert levels which range from Low (Green) to Moderate (Yellow) to High (Red) to Extreme (Black) and are based on a variety of factors including weather conditions. The AJC Peachtree Road Race Medical Director Joe Wilson and Race Director Tracey Russell, along with the rest of the Race Communications team, will determine and execute the specific alert level on race day.
Communications about the EAS will be available prior to race day through the AJC Peachtree Road Race e-newsletters, social media (facebook.com/AtlantaTrackClub and twitter.com/ATLtrackclub), the event website (peachtreeroadrace.org), at the Peachtree Health and Fitness Expo on July 2 and 3 and on race day through PA announcements and posted colored flags.
“We are excited to implement the Event Alert System for the first time at this year’s AJC Peachtree Road Race,” said Wilson. “Our top priority on race day is the safety of everyone involved in the event, and the Event Alert System will help us be better prepared in case of an emergency.”
The EAS was developed in response to the 2007 Chicago Marathon, which was cancelled early due to extreme temperatures and concerns for the safety of marathon participants, and has since become a standard communication tool at road race events throughout the country.
“Given the AJC Peachtree Road Race takes place on the Fourth of July in Atlanta, we strive to be as proactive as possible when it comes to dealing with the heat and humidity and looking out for the safety of our participants,” said Russell. “The Event Alert System provides us with an excellent communication tool to help keep our participants, and everyone else involved with the event, informed about race day conditions.”
The 43rd running of the AJC Peachtree Road Race will take place on Wednesday, July 4, 2012. Additional details regarding the 2012 AJC Peachtree Road Race including registration information, start wave placement details and specifics on the Peachtree Health and Fitness Expo are available at peachtreeroadrace.org.
-more-
Event Alert System colored flags chart:
About the AJC Peachtree Road Race
The AJC Peachtree Road Race is a 10K event that takes place every Fourth of July in Atlanta, Georgia. The first Peachtree was held in 1970 and featured 110 runners. The AJC Peachtree Road Race is now the largest 10K running event in the world with 60,000 participants. The AJC Peachtree Road Race is perhaps most famous for the coveted AJC Peachtree Road Race T-shirt, which is handed out to all the event finishers. For more information on the AJC Peachtree Road Race visit peachtreeroadrace.org or ajc.com/peachtree.
About the Atlanta Track Club
The Atlanta Track Club (ATC) is a nonprofit organization established to inspire and engage the community to achieve health and fitness through running. With more than 16,000 members, the ATC is the second largest running organization in the United States. In addition to the AJC Peachtree Road Race (peachtreeroadrace.org) – the largest 10K running event in the world, the Atlanta Marathon and Marathon Relay (atlantamarathon.org), and the Atlanta Half Marathon and Thanksgiving Day 5K (atlantahalfmarathon.org), the Atlanta Track Club directs more than 25 running events per year. Through the support of its members and volunteers, the Atlanta Track Club also maintains a number of community initiatives including organizing and promoting the Kilometer Kids youth running program to metro Atlanta youth, honoring high school cross country and track and field athletes through the ATC’s All-Metro Banquets and supporting the Grady Bicycle EMT program. For more information on the Atlanta Track Club, visit atlantatrackclub.org.
About The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the leading source – both in print and online – of news, information and advertising for metropolitan Atlanta, reaching a total print and online audience of 2 million people each week. Every month, nearly 2.3 million unique visitors access the newspaper's websites, including ajc.com and accessAtlanta.com. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is part of Cox Media Group, a publishing, digital media and broadcasting subsidiary of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises.
About Cox Media Group
Cox Media Group, Inc. is an integrated broadcasting, publishing, direct marketing and digital media company that includes the national advertising rep firms of Cox Reps. With $1.8 billion in revenue, the company operations include 15 broadcast television stations and one local cable channel, 85 radio stations, eight daily newspapers and more than a dozen non-daily publications, and more than 100 digital services. Additionally, CMG owns and operates Valpak, one of the leading direct marketing companies in North America. For more information about Cox Media Group, please check us out online at www.coxmediagroup.com.
###